Broken Heart Mended
by Alien Outcast
Summary: **FINISHED** Caitlin's feeling sad about her mom and then her and SOMEONE fall in love. I'm not telling you who it is but they go together way better then Brett or Will. Well, you prob. know it's Eric now. REVIEW!
1. The Accident

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to whomever made them, not me. The song _Miracle _belongs to Vertical Horizon.

A.N. I'm already working on the 2nd part, so if you want to keep reading, it shouldn't be that long. Oh and PLEASE REVIEW! If you usually don't review all you have to do is put a ! if you like it or a . if you don't.

  


  


  


A Broken Heart Mended

  


  


  


It was Saturday evening. Dori and Jim were working, and Griffin was on a date. That left Caitlin alone in the house. It was times like these, that Caitlin felt lonely. She needed somebody, and which got her thinking about her mother. At least she was alone when she did cry; nobody was there to make fun of her. She liked her reputation, and she wanted to keep it that away.

  


Sitting on her bed, holding a lost picture of her mom, she couldn't keep her tears back. Her radio then began to play.

  


_It's taken much too long_

_To get it right_

_Would it be so wrong_

_To maybe find someone_

_A miracle_

  


_And all you really need_

_Is everything you could never be_

_And so you'd give it all _

_For a miracle_

  


_Is there a trace _

_Inside her face_

_Of a lonely miracle_

_And so you wait_

_And lie awake_

_For a lonely miracle_

  


_You never really know_

_What it is_

_Not until it goes_

_And if it comes again_

_It's a miracle_

  


_But what you miss is love_

_In everything below and up above_

_And could she bring it all_

_A miracle_

  


_Is there a trace _

_Inside her face_

_Of a lonely miracle_

_And so you wait_

_And lie awake_

_For a lonely miracle_

  


_All you wanted was a _

_All you needed was a miracle_

_A miracle_

_And all you wanted was a_

_All you needed was a miracle_

_A miracle_

  


_It's taken so long _

_To get it right_

_Could it be so wrong_

_To maybe find someone_

_A miracle_

  


_Is there a trace_

_Inside her face_

_Of a lonely miracle_

_And so you wait_

_And lie awake_

_For a lonely miracle_

  


_Is there a trace_

_Inside her face_

_Of a lonely miracle_

_And so you wait_

_And lie awake_

_For a lonely miracle_

  


Anger and frustration came to her and she decided that she needed to get a hold of herself. She would ride Bandit; he always calmed her down. 

  


She went out to the barn, and put the picture into her saddle bag, then jumped on still crying. She rode for a little while, but then found herself in front of Eric's house. She didn't know why she came here. She didn't even want anybody to see her like this, yet, here she was. She stared at the house for a little while, and then started to turn around, but she heard someone say behind her say, "Caitlin? What are you doing here?"

  


She turned Bandit around, and saw Eric looking at her. She groaned inwardly, knowing that he was the last person who would understand her situation.

  


Eric saw her face, with tears flowing down them. "God, what happened to you?"

  


Caitlin quickly wiped her tears away with her sleeves on her leather jacket and replied, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

  


"No, you're not fine." he said with an agitated tone in his voice. 

  


Caitlin jumped down from her horse, ready to tell him to mind his own business, and accidentally hitting the saddle bag, the picture fell out. Eric bent down and picked it up. He looked at the framed picture, then at Caitlin. "Is this your mom?" He didn't need an answer; he saw it in her eyes. 

  


Caitlin tried to hold back her tears, but failed. Angrily, she snatched the picture from his hands, and mounted Bandit. She broke her gaze, and galloped away; still wiping tears from her eyes. 

  


*** *** ***

  


"Griffin, Brett, wait up." It was lunch time at school, and Eric wanted to know what happened the previous day.

  


"Hey Eric." said Brett and Griffin.

  


Eric fell into step with his friends that were heading toward one of the tables. "What was up with Caitlin yesterday?" he asked.

  


"What do you mean?" 

  


"Why was she crying?" he asked, trying to remind Griffin of what he thought wasn't very hard to forget.

  


"What are you talking about?" Griffin asked, still clue-less of what was going on. 

  


"Yeah man, what's up with you?" Brett joined in.

  


They stopped walking and faced each other. With an agitated look on his face, Eric replied, "She was crying the other 

day; came to my house, didn't say anything, and rode away on Bandit."

  


"What!" exclaimed Brett and Griffin in unison. 

  


"Yeah, you didn't know?" They sat down at a near-by table; Griffin to the right of Eric, and Brett sitting in front of Griffin.

  


"No, we live in the same house, but I don't keep tabs on her."

  


"Do you know what it was all about?" asked Brett.

  


"No, that's why I'm asking you. Wait a minute . . . . There was a picture that she got upset about. I'm pretty sure it was her mom."

  


"I didn't know she had a picture of her mom. I never saw it in her room before."

  


"Well, I don't know where she got it, but it looked like something important since she snatched it away from me." 

  


"Here she comes." warned Brett, looking over their heads. They grew silent as Caitlin sat down next to Brett. She didn't say anything, but kept eyeing Eric, which he returned the look.

  


"Caitlin...."

  


"Look," she said, cutting off Griffin. "I don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone." And she got up from the table and walked away, leaving the guys looking at each other with faces that said, _"Let's not mess with her."_

  


*** *** ***

  


"Caitlin," Griffin ran up to her in the hall. "I know you don't want to talk about whatever's bothering you, but I just want you to know that you can talk to me and my friends."

  


Caitlin slowly turned to face him. "Thanks, but I think you're forgetting something."

  


"Like what?"

  


"Eric! Stupid, like he would even listen to me!"

  


"Come on Caitlin! Eric's not that bad!"

  


"Yes he is! Now, I can talk to Brett, and you've got my back, but there's NO WAY I could talk to him. He wouldn't even listen!"

  


"Fine Caitlin, do whatever you want. I just wanted to know what was bothering you, that's all."

  


"Thanks for your concern, but I don't need somebody prying into my life!" she said angrily, not wanting to talk to anybody anymore. She walked to class, leaving Griffin standing in the hall.

  


*** *** ***

  


After school, Caitlin got Bandit, and jumped on. She rode a little ways, into the countryside. She came to a not-so-well beaten path, and guided Bandit onto it. 

  


Up ahead, was a rotten log laying across the path. Caitlin didn't deem it dangerous, so she continued, nearing toward it. Suddenly, Bandit stood back on his hind legs, and neighed as it saw a rattlesnake crawling out of the log. It bucked Caitlin off, and she landed on the ground with a thud. 

  


Unconscious, Caitlin didn't hear Bandit stomping around her, or the engine of a dirt bike . . . . 


	2. A Moment

Broken Heart Mended

(Part 2: A Moment)

  


  


  


  


  


Eric saw something up ahead. He let up on the accelerator as he got close to it. Then, he was forced to brake as he saw a tan horse coming out of the foliage. He recognized it as Bandit. Wondering what he was doing out here, he spotted Caitlin lying on the ground, not moving. He ran to where she was laying, and bent down. "Oh God." he said, as he took her in his arms. "Caitlin! Come on Caitlin, wake up. Come on . . ."

  


He pushed her hair away, and found a pulse. Relief washed over him for a second, but then he thought if he didn't get her back soon, she could go into a coma and die. But how was he going to get her home? He couldn't take her on his bike, and it would be extremely hard if they went on Bandit, but he soon decided that he would have to use Bandit in means of transportation. Luckily, the horse was still there. 

  


He was faced with the difficult task of getting himself AND Caitlin on Bandit. He got a better grip, and lifted her up. He walked over to Bandit, and tried to get her on the horse, but failed. "This isn't going to work." he groaned, laying her back down so he could rest. 

  


He started to get frustrated, and yelled, "Stupid horse! I should give you to the butcher!" As if on key, Bandit leaned down on his front legs, making it to where they could get on. Eric stared at it, mouth hanging open. "Maybe I won't." he said, picking up Caitlin again, and putting her on Bandit. He held Caitlin still, so she wouldn't fall, as he got on behind her.

  


*** *** ***

  


Caitlin was lying on the couch, tucked under a blanket while Eric picked up the phone. He dialed Griffin's house, and Eric said as it continued to ring, "For once in your life be home!" He hung up angrily after it rang some more, and seeing no reason to call Brett, he started dialing 911. Before he finished dialing, he heard a groan. He quickly turned off the phone and went to the couch to see Caitlin stir.

  


Caitlin slowly opened her eyes, and found Eric kneeling in front of the couch. "What happened?" she asked, holding her head to stop the gray spots from swirling about. 

  


"You hit your head; I'm assuming while you were riding Bandit. You were out for awhile." She leaned back and said, "I feel like I got hit by a truck." 

  


Caitlin tried to sit up, but the dizziness became to much for her. "Whoa." She felt Eric's hands on her arms as he guided her back down on the couch. 

  


"Do you want me to call the hospital?" he asked. 

  


"No . . . I think I'm fine." she replied, putting her hand on her forehead. "I just need to rest."

  


Eric got up and started to leave her so she could rest. When he was almost out the door, he heard her say, "Eric?"

  


"Yeah?"

  


There was a pause, and then he heard, "Thanks."

  


He smiled and said, "No prob." and left the room.

  


*** *** ***

  


Jim and Dori got out of the jeep. It was dark, since it was 11:00, and they could barely make out who was headed their way. "Hey Griffin!" Dori yelled. "How was your date?"

  


"Hey mom!" he yelled back. He rode toward them, so they didn't have to yell. "It went fine."

  


Jim smiled at his son who was growing up. Dori saw the goofy smile her husband was wearing, and she playfully slapped him in the stomach. They headed inside, and Dori yelled through the house, "Caitlin! We're home!" There was no answer, and she called questioningly, "Caitlin?" Again no answer.

  


"Maybe she went out." Griffin suggested.

  


"I don't think so Griffin." said Jim. "If she did, she should have been back by now."

  


"I'm going to call some people and see if they know where she is." said Dori. "Griffin, do you know where she might be?"

  


"Maybe Brett's, or some restaurant."

  


"What about Eric's? Would she be there?"

  


"Ha! Yeah right! Caitlin at Eric's?" he said with a laugh. "Trust me, that's the last place she would be."

  


A half an hour later, they were sitting in the kitchen. They had called every place they could think of. Everyone was getting worried; especially Dori. "I'm gonna' call Eric's; she might be there."

  


"Go ahead mom, but I'm telling you, she's not there." he said, shaking his head and getting up from his seat to stretch. He sat back down, wanting to hear Eric's reply when Dori would ask if Caitlin was there.

  


Dori called the phone number that Griffin gave to her.

  


Unbelievably, Eric heard the phone ring with his ear-phones on. He took them off, and went into the living room, and turned on the light. 

  


"Oh God! You turned on the lights!" Caitlin whined, shielding her eyes.

  


Inside, Eric laughed, and picked up the phone. "Hello."

  


"Eric? This is Dori."

  


"Oh, hi. I'm glad you called . . ."

  


"Eric," said Dori, cutting him off. "Is Caitlin there?"

  


"Yeah, see that's what I was going to tell you. I found her unconscious on one of my dirt bike paths, and I got her inside. She woke up though, and she's fine. I put Bandit in the barn. I tried calling you, but nobody was home."

  


Griffin listened on the other end with shock, while his dad just looked at him and said sarcastically, "Trust me, that's the last place she would be, huh?"

  


Griffin just looked at his dad and smiled a guilty smile. "Well, it was the last place we called." Jim smacked him upside the head. "Ow!! Geesh, I can be wrong once in awhile can't I?" he said, rubbing the back of his head. Jim just shook his head, while rolling his eyes.

  


"Eric, is your dad there?" Dori asked.

  


"No, him and my brother are out of state at an auction. Ya' wanna talk to Caitlin?" he asked.

  


"Please." 

  


Eric handed the phone to Caitlin. "Hey mom." she said.

  


"Hello Caitlin. Are you all right?" she asked.

  


"Yeah, I'm fine."

  


"Is it okay if we leave you there until' morning? It's getting late, and we all need some rest since Jim and I are working tomorrow, and I'm not letting Griffin out this late; even if it the weekend."

  


"Yeah, okay." she replied.

  


"Okay then, bye Caitlin."

  


"Bye." Caitlin hung up the phone, and handed it to Eric. "Looks like I'm bunkin' with you."

  


"Oh joy." he said sarcastically, and plopped down on the couch next to Caitlin, propped his feet up, and draped his arm across the couch. "What are we watching?" he asked.

  


"I have no idea." she said as she flipped through the channels. After going through all of the channels, she stopped at some kind of movie and watched that since there was nothing else on, and neither one of them felt like going to sleep.

  


After a while, Caitlin broke the silence. "So," she said quietly. "When's you dad coming back?"

  


Eric stared at the tv, and after a pause he said, "Next week."

  


"Oh." There was silence and then, "Is he still . . .?"

  


"Yeah." Eric replied. Caitlin could hear the tone of anger in his voice that he was trying to smother. "Yeah, he is." 

  


He looked away from the tv and faced Caitlin. Their eyes locked, and it was almost as they were reading the others emotions. They broke away from the chain of energy that kept their eyes focused on each other, and Caitlin watched Eric get up from the couch while saying, "Ya' want somethin' to eat?"

  


"Yeah."


	3. In the Hospital Room . . .

Author's Note: This is part 3 of the Broken Heart Mended series! Yay!!!!! I can't believe I'm writing this so soon! 

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me (unfortunately)

  


  


Broken Heart Mended

(Part 3: In the Hospital Room . . .)

  


Eric walked over behind the counter, facing Caitlin, but his face was covered by the cabinets since they hung down. She heard Eric rummaging through the cabinet and he said, "Okay, we got chips, chips, and more chips. What do ya' want?"

  


He ducked his head down to see Caitlin. "Umm, got any chips?" 

  


Eric gave her a nasty look. "Very funny." he replied sarcastically. 

  


Caitlin got up from the couch and walked over to him, intending to see what kind she wanted. She got half way across when she stopped. She put her hand on her forehead. "Woa." she said, closing her eyes.

  


"What?" Eric asked, concern in his voice.

  


"I'm dizzy . . .extremely dizzy."

  


"You gonna' be okay?" asked Eric as he walked from behind the counter to where Caitlin stood.

  


"Eric . . ." she said, putting her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. "Help . . ." And she collapsed. 

  


Eric bent down under her weight as she landed on him. He stared at her . . .as if he was in shock . . .

  


  


  


Griffin and Eric nervously paced the halls of the hospital in front of a very worried Dori and her husband, who was trying not to sure his own nervousness, was sitting down at the moment.

  


"Griffin, Eric," said Dori, cutting the silence. "Will you please sit down! You're making me dizzy!"

  


"Sorry mom." Griffin stated, and sat down beside his father. Eric continued to stand.

  


Brett came through the electric doors and came running up to Eric. "Where's Caitlin?" he asked hurried. Then noticing the Lowe family, he turned and asked them, "Is she all right?

  


"We don't know." replied Jim. "She's been in there for at least 15 min., maybe a half hour, and the doctors haven't told us anything."

  


Then, they saw a doctor coming toward them; his expression didn't settle the knots in their stomachs. "Hello, the Lowe family?" he asked.

  


"Yes." said Jim as himself and everyone who had been sitting stood up.

  


"Hi, I'm Dr. Brunan." he said, shaking hands with Jim.

  


"Is Caitlin all right?" Dori asked hopefully as she shook hands with the doctor.

  


Dr. Brunan sighed, which turned into a frown. "I'm afraid she's not doing well." he replied

  


"What's wrong with her?" Eric asked, more so demanding.

  


"Yeah, what's up with Caitlin?" asked Brett.

  


The doctor could hear the impatience in their voices and decided to just come out and say it. "She's in a coma. She hit her head, and we don't know when she will come out of her currant state . . ."

  


"But she was fine when she woke up!" interrupted Eric angrily. 

  


"Yes, this sometimes happens." responded Dr. Brunan, carefully choosing his words. "If a person has a concussion, that person might be fine or slip into a coma. Some people are sleepy and when they go to sleep, they sometimes become unconscious or worse . . .they indeed slip into a coma."

  


"Is she going to . . .?" asked Griffin. 

  


"We can't know that now. She could wake up . . .or yes, she could die."

  


"How long do you think she'll be like this?" asked Jim.

  


"It varies. She could be in a coma for months. We just don't know."

  


"Ok, thanks doctor." said Jim.

  


"You may come and visit her anytime you like, since she doesn't need rest." he said. "Sometimes, hearing the people the coma patients love will lure them out of their sleep." There was a pause, then, "She's in room 320. I hope . . ." Another pause, then, "I hope your presence will help Miss Seagar." and he walked off.

  


  


  


It had been a week since Caitlin had been in the hospital. The doctors had said that there had been no changes in her vital signs or any hints that she might be coming out of her coma. Griffin, Eric, and Brett worried about her when they were in school, and visited her when they could, along with Jim and Dori.

  


On one occasion, when the three guys were making one of their daily visits to the hospital, Will had come in. There had been an uncomfortable silence as the trio had glared at Will, along with Will glaring back. 

  


Brett and Griffin noticed that Eric had a speck more of anger in his eyes than normally. Curiosity formed when they thought of the possibility of Caitlin and Eric together.

  


Now, Eric sat alone in the hospital room that was occupied by Caitlin. Brett had basketball practice, Jim was working, Dori had an emergency call for Will's horse, Sinbad, and Griffin had stayed after school for some club. He stared at Caitlin, silently willing her to wake up from this deep sleep. "Come on Caitlin," he said quietly, breaking the definite silence. "You gotta' wake up." He clung to his leather jacket and fell asleep by her bed side.

  


  


  


  


Author's Note: I can't believe it, but I'm already on the next chapter! 


	4. The Recovery

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine (wish Eric was though -dream on-)

Author's Note: I started writing this before the episode Juliet and Her Romeo (or something like that) so just forget it. If you haven't seen that episode, then you're good ta' go. I've had **a lot** of ideas for the ending, but finally came down to just one! Oh, and one more thing, just because Eric can sometimes be a jerk, that doesn't mean he cares about people. So remember that when you read the ending. Wow! I've never kept doing my series before! This is cool! I just keep writing and writing . . . 

  


  


Broken Heart Mended

(Part 4: The Recovery)

  


  


  


  


Caitlin woke up and looked at a clock that was on a nightstand. She blinked, and the luminescent numbers were more clear. It read 9:08 am. Then, she noticed that her mother's picture was by the clock along with others from her childhood. There were all different kinds of flowers too. She glanced over and saw Eric, sleeping in a chair beside her. She realized that he must have been there all night. "Eric?" she asked.

  


Eric lifted his head and yawned. He opened his eyes and found himself looking at Caitlin. She was on her side, propped up on her elbow. "Caitlin? You're awake?" he asked, shock on his face.

  


"Yeah . . .where is everybody?" 

  


"Huh? Oh, they're not here."

  


"They're not here? So you stayed here all night by yourself . . .for me?"

  


"Well, everyone else was busy, and I was bored, so I decided to come up here." he lied. Nonetheless, Caitlin smiled, which made a chain reaction to Eric.

  


But Eric broke off his own smile as Dr. Brunan came into the room to make his daily check-up. He looked up from his clipboard and found Caitlin sitting up. "You're awake!" he said excitedly. He rushed over to her and started asking her questions and checking up on her. 

  


As nurses came into the room, Eric casually snuck out, seeing that he would be in the way. Caitlin didn't see him leave the room, and it wasn't until the doctors had left and her family had come in did she miss Eric. "Where's Eric?" she asked. 

  


"I don't know." replied Jim. "He called and told us that you were awake."

  


"But he was here when I woke up . . ."

  


  


  


Caitlin walked out of the school at the end of the day. On the sidewalk, she saw Eric coming from the opposite direction.

  


"Hey Eric!" she yelled. They neared each other, and Eric stood impatiently, waiting from Caitlin to speak. "I just wanted to, say thanks."

  


"For what?"

  


"For, for being there when I woke up." There was a pause, then Caitlin said quietly, "Nobody was there when I had my tonsils taken out, or braces put in. I was little and I was scared to death, but nobody came to comfort me." Caitlin was surprised at herself for telling him this, and she surprised herself even more of what came out of her mouth next. "While I was in the coma," she said, looking down. "I saw my mom . . .but she turned away." she said, beginning to cry. She looked up at Eric. "My mom turned away."

  


Eric put his arms around Caitlin and said quietly, "It's gonna' be okay."

  


Griffin and Brett watched as Caitlin stood there in Eric's embrace . . .

  


  


  


  


  


  


Author's Note: Okay, I thought I wasn't going to do a sequel and I was going to make this the end, but I just HAD to put that last line. Just be VERY patient, because I have a BUNCH of fics that I need to finish & post AND do a whole bunch of other sequels!! (I'm a very busy girl) Wait a minute guys! This is fun . . .

Bye bye! Hope you enjoyed my fic! Oh, and . . .

Review!


	5. "I'm Fine"

Author's Note: I know this was short, but I knew if I didn't end it, then I would never end it, so here it is, and I hope you enjoyed my first series that I actually finished. :] And please don't ask for a sequal cause I'm extremely busy. I might do another Caitlin/Eric fic, just not right now. Probably a long time before now. 

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.

  


  


Broken Heart Mended

(Part 5: "I'm Fine")

  


  


"What should we do?" asked Griffin.

  


"Leave 'em alone." replied Brett.

  


"But . . ."

  


"Let's just see where it goes."

  


"You mean spy on them?"

  


"Spying is such a harsh word. I prefer to call it watching people."

  


"Oh, that seems different." Griffin said sarcastically.

  


"Shut up."

  


  


  


Far away from her house, Caitlin stood in the grassy field, brushing Bandit. She looked up as she heard galloping coming from behind them. She watched as Eric rode up to her, and jumped down from his horse. "What are you doing here?" she asked, feeling like he was violating her privacy.

  


"I wanted to ask if you were going to be okay."

  


"Yeah, I'm fine." she replied agitated. 

  


"You don't seem fine." he said, his own temper rising.

  


"I said I was didn't I?" she asked.

  


"That's the thing though Caitlin. You say stuff that you don't mean. No one can understand you."

  


"It's not your job to understand me now is it Eric?"

  


"Are you fine?" he asked again, his head leaning close to hers. So close, that their lips almost brushed against one anothers.

  


"No." she whispered.

  


"Why not?" 

  


"Because."

  


"Because isn't a good answer."

  


"I know." 

  


They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, just gazing into them. Then, they both leaned their heads sideways, and for the first time, their lips met. Feeling his soft lips on hers, Caitlin felt as if the world was non-existant, and she slipped her arms around his neck. 

  


Breaking away, Eric asked again, "Is everything okay?"

  


She smiled and said, "I'm fine."

  


  


  


End 


End file.
